We did it
On 12th October 2023 we successfully raised £10,042 ( + est. £262.00 Gift Aid ) with 137 supporters in 42 days

We want to save London's last significant population of hedgehogs - the nation's favourite mammal.

by Heath Hands in London, England, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

Our initial project focuses on three key areas - East of the Heath to Waterlow Park, South to Kentish Town City Farm and North-West to Hampstead Garden Suburb.

With extra funds, we can extend our project South West towards Belsize Park, North East towards East Finchley and West towards Child's Hill, significantly extending the area hedgehogs have to roam in North London and helping better support our hedgehog population! 

And now we have extra match funding from BA Better World Community Fund, we can dream even bigger and extend our project into a second year, to enable us to develop our project even further. Many thanks to all the support! 

This will enable us to reach out to more local residents, work with key local councils on traffic calming, run extra campaigns with local schools to rewild and connect the areas around the Heath for our hedgehogs. 


Heath Hands is the conservation, community and volunteering charity for Hampstead Heath.

Our recent hedgehog monitoring projects in conjunction with ZSL and other partners show that Hampstead Heath's population of hedgehogs is crucial to the survival of hedgehogs in London. 

1694085099_golders_monitoring_smaller.jpgVolunteers monitoring hedgehogs

Connectivity between green spaces is key for hedgehogs as they can roam up to 1km at night in search of food - we have therefore launched our project to help protect this key species and you can help us by supporting our campaign!

1694085347_growinggreenhhsign.jpg Hedgehog highway

All donations however small very gratefully received and for every £1 you donate, Aviva will give us £2! 

The funding will enable us to monitor and survey the hedgehogs on and around the Heath, inspiring local people to protect hedgehogs & other wildlife species around the Heath and work with local residents, organisations & schools to: 

  • map barriers to hedgehog (and other wildlife) connectivity.
  • reduce these barriers where possible (e.g. making hedgehog holes in fences).
  • make biodiversity improvements for hedgehogs (and other species) on and around the fringes of Hampstead Heath.

The funds raised will be used to: 

  • create hedgehog advice resources to distribute with local residents around the heath
  • carry out conservation sessions improving biodiversity for hedgehogs around the Heath
  • install trailcams and analyse footage to monitor hedgehogs in different zones around the Heath, helping us to prioritise improvements in areas where there are hedgehogs
  • run information sessions with local residents on hedgehog- (and other wildlife!)-friendly gardening 

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation.

£10 or more

5 of 10 claimed

Hedgehog wildlife bag

Donate £10 and get a unique Hampstead Heath hedgehog bag as a gift. More info here: https://www.heath-hands.org.uk/shop/p/hampstead-heath-wildlife-bags This will be posted to you within 3 working days of you claiming your reward.

£15 or more

2 of 8 claimed

Hedgehog highway

Donate £15 and we'll send you a two-piece hedgehog highway frame to help you connect your garden to other gardens or green spaces. This will be posted to you within 3 working days of you claiming your reward. More info here: https://www.heath-hands.org.uk/shop/p/hedgehog-highway

£40 or more

2 of 20 claimed

Hedgehog box adoption

Donate £40 to our campaign and we'll make, install and monitor a hedgehog box on Hampstead Heath on your behalf! You'll also get an update in a year's time on how our hedgehog box project is going.

£250 or more

Hedgehog monitoring ranger tour

Donate £250 and we'll invite you to a ranger-led hedgehog monitoring outing on Hampstead Heath, enabling you to find out about hedgehog monitoring techniques and take part in monitoring activities such as setting up a trail cam or hedgehog monitoring tunnel and checking on hedgehog boxes.

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